AN: Here it is. The final episode tag, number forty-four. Honestly, this moment is really bittersweet for me, and I can't thank you enough for being the most incredible readers in the world. Thank you so much for everything. I hope I really have become a better writer through these tags, and I look forward to continuing to write in the future. This is a tag to episode 2x23, MacGyver + MacGyver. It takes place right after the episode ends, and will likely be canon divergent upon the beginning of season three. I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!
Also, please come visit me on tumblr! I can be found under the user bands-space-and-monsters-oh-my. The next thing I'll be posting is chapter two of To The Ends of The Earth, which should be up sometime on Monday I'm guessing. After that, I'll write two of the follow ups that were requested and post them, then another chapter of TTEOTE, and so on. I'm not sure what my updating schedule is going to be, but I would assume that you can expect two follow ups per week along with one new chapter of TTEOTE. Thank you guys for everything. I love you all!
The moment Jack saw Mac walk out those doors, he made a beeline for James, a look of fury on his face. He had been planning on holding back all of his opinions on the man, but now that Mac had quit, there was no reason to.
"You son of a bitch," Jack said as he walked into the war room.
"Agent Dalton-"
"No!" Jack interrupted. "No, you don't get to speak right now. You just lost the best thing that ever happened to you, and your chance to make things right flew out the window years ago. There are so many things that I wanna say to you right now, but I actually plan on taking care of my kid, which I know you could never understand, so I'm only gonna say the ones that are most important right now," Jack said, his face beet red in anger. He knew the rest of the team was watching, but he didn't care. Jack quickly swung his fist up and struck James in the cheekbone, hard enough to make the man fall to the ground and for the skin to be broken. "Screw you, Oversight. I quit."
With that, Jack turned on his heel and stalked out of the room. Like he told the award winning father in negligence and abandonment, he had a kid he actually cared enough about to take care of.
Mac didn't make eye contact with anyone as he quickly made his way out of the building and into the parking garage. He walked over to the large window sill and rested his hands on it, breathing quickly. He needed to calm down before he gave himself an anxiety attack. Mac tried to focus on slowing his breathing and calming his mind. His racing thoughts were only making things worse. If he could manage to calm down, maybe he would be okay to drive home. But what was he supposed to do? Phoenix was his home. He couldn't imagine himself doing anything other than working with his team, his family.
Tears came to Mac's eyes as he realized the gravity of what he'd done. There was no going back from this. He didn't want anything to do with the man who was biologically his father, James. He could never call the man his dad, much less work for him or with him. But still, leaving the team he loved with all of his heart was the hardest thing he'd ever done in his life.
Mac tried to let the cool breeze calm him, but to no avail. He closed his eyes and turned around, letting himself slide down to the floor. It was pathetic looking, but Mac couldn't bring himself to care. He'd just had one of the worst days of his life, so he was entitled to a little hurt and dramatic actions. He pulled his knees up to his chest and rested his head against them, holding his hands together in front. He couldn't believe he'd actually quit the job he loved more than life. What was he supposed to do now?
Mac was saved from having to actually ponder that question by the elevator door dinging to alert the presence of someone else entering the garage. He quickly put his knees down and tried to wipe his face for any evidence of possible tears. No matter who it was, he needed to at least look put together and not the complete wreck he was.
"Hey, buddy."
It was Jack. Part of Mac relaxed at the man's entrance, but another part of him geared up for a fight. He really didn't want a lecture right now, but he would defend himself and his actions.
"Please don't start lecturing me about how I should just forgive my father and move on, because I really don't need that right now, especially not from you," Mac said, finally looking up and meeting Jack's eyes. The man looked equal parts worried and furious.
"Oh, kid, I'm not here to lecture you, I'm here to make sure you're okay," Jack replied gently, taking a seat right beside the blond. Mac scoffed at the words. How could he possibly be okay after the day he just had? "Yeah, I know, stupid question." Of course, Jack could always read him like a book. "Besides, I think you made the decision that was right for you," he said, nudging Mac's shoulder.
"I just can't believe he was there the whole time. He was there the whole time, and he never said anything, or even let me know. He just stayed in the shadows, manipulating my entire freaking life. How can I know that any I did was of my own volition? Getting a full ride to MIT? He probably had something to do with that. I thought my decision to enlist was spur of the moment but I guess he probably had a hand in that too somehow. He admitted that we were only paired up because of him, and that we only got into DXS because of him too. Even my own house is probably his and not my grandfather's," Mac's voice broke at the end, his eyes once again filling with tears. He pulled his knees back up to his chest and rested his head on them to avoid letting Jack see him cry, although he knew the man knew.
In true Jack fashion, Mac felt a gentle hand settle on his far shoulder and pull him closer to Jack. Mac didn't resist the pull, instead letting his head come to rest on Jack's shoulder as he tried to calm himself down.
"Yeah, your old man is a bastard, that's for damn sure," Jack said, gently rubbing Mac's shoulder and back with his hand. "But I can tell you one thing that man never had any influence on: you and me. He may have arranged our meeting, but he never could've predicted what you came to mean to me, and vice versa. Hell, I couldn't even have predicted it since we both basically hated each other when we first met," he added with a laugh. Mac let out a small chuckle himself, shaking his head slightly against Jack's shoulder. He knew he should lift his head up, but he didn't really want to. There was this comfort that always came from being close to Jack, and right now, that's really what Mac needed. His whole life had been turned upside down, but Jack was the one constant. The man was still right by his side, holding him together, both literally and metaphorically. "I know there's nothing I can say to make this better, or even any easier, but just remember that no matter what changes, I won't. I'm still gonna be here, no matter who arranged our first meeting."
Mac nodded against Jack's shoulder, but didn't say anything. The two were quiet for a minute. The steady rhythm of Jack's breathing helped to calm Mac, and reminded him that everything would be okay, because he had Jack, Phoenix or no Phoenix. Eventually, Mac's thoughts went back to his dad - no, James, he couldn't even call that man his father anymore, much less his dad - had said to him in that burning room.
"He didn't even care, Jack," he whispered. "He didn't care at all."
"What do you mean he didn't care? He was sending you all of those funky clues and all that," Jack said with a small shrug.
"It wasn't him," Mac said, picking his head off the man's shoulder and sitting up. "That was all Matty. She knew she couldn't say anything but she wanted me to find out, so she left all that stuff. Which means that my own father didn't even care enough about me to ever plan on making contact with me again. If he'd had it his way, I probably never would've known. He didn't care enough to reach out. He didn't care at all." Mac turned his head away when he finished, hoping to ward off more tears. He scoffed at himself. When had he become so emotional?
Jack was silent. Clearly this was news to him as well. If Mac had to make a guess, he would say that Jack was considering going back to the war room and introducing Oversight to his fist. The man just sighed and continued rubbing his back.
"That's his loss," Jack said. "Despite his IQ, the man is one of the biggest idiots I've ever met. Not wanting to be an active part of your life is just one of the never ending examples of his idiotic and terrible decisions. I wish like hell I could change all of this for you, but I can't. You deserve better, kid." Jack gave Mac a soft smile and pulled him closer again. Mac didn't resist and let the gap between them fall to nothing, their shoulders and legs touching.
"That's not even the worst part," Mac mumbled, his head still down and his hands together resting on his knees. "When we were trapped in that room that we lit on fire, I thought that maybe we would die, so I forced him to tell me why he really left, and he did. He told me everything. I guess it's good that I know, but now I wish I'd never asked," he said, shaking his head. Mac wouldn't meet Jack's eyes, despite the man's nudging him to do so.
"What did he say?" Jack asked. Mac just shook his head again. "Mac, what did that bastard tell you?" he asked again, his voice growing in fury. His hand stopped moving on Mac's back in his growing anger at James. Mac chuckled in spite of himself. Jack was this mad at the man and he didn't even know the truth yet. Once he knew, Mac didn't think there was anything he could do to stop Jack from quite possibly killing the man.
"He told me it was my fault," Mac said with a thin-lipped smile, turning to face Jack and shaking his head.
"He did what?" Jack asked to confirm, his voice eerily low and calm, yet seething. Mac knew that anger. It was usually reserved for the people who hurt him, and it was the highest and most dangerous level of Jack Dalton's anger.
"He told me that he left because every time he looked at me, he got, and I quote, 'so angry'. He said that after my mom died he didn't know how to relate to me anymore. He said that every time he looked at me, he saw her, and it infuriated him so much that he just left. He was too furious with me to stay," Mac finished in a monotone voice in an attempt to keep his emotions in check. He was not about to let himself cry again. That just wasn't going to happen. Mac sighed and let his head fall back against the concrete wall.
Jack clenched his fist and let out a shaky sigh himself. Mac could tell that his partner was itching for a fight, but was trying to calm his temper with every fiber of his being.
"That man is even more dumb than I thought," Jack finally said, letting out a humorless smile and chuckle. "None of this is your fault, Mac, none of it, do you understand?" Mac turned to face Jack, emotion swirling in both of their eyes. "Your bastard of a sperm donor left because he is a coward who was too afraid and selfish to stick around, and that's all there is to it. None of this is on you, it's all on our dear 'Oversight'," Jack finished with an eye roll.
"But he's not my Oversight anymore. You're not even my partner anymore," Mac mumbled, his gaze falling to the garage floor again. He had quit. He was no longer a spy, and Jack was no longer his partner.
"Uhm, excuse me? We're still partners, brother. Nothing, and I mean nothing, can change that. Besides, I quit too," Jack said in a slightly happier inflection at the end.
"What?" Mac said, his head snapping up and eyes blown wide with panic. "Jack, no, you didn't have to do that. You don't have to throw away your career for me. Please tell me you didn't. Jack, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to ruin this for you too, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry-"
"Hey, hey, it's okay," Jack said, cutting off Mac's rambling and resting a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Yes, I did quit Phoenix, but only because that was the only way I could still do my job." Mac just stared at him incredulously, emotion still swirling in his eyes. "My job is to protect you, and I take that very seriously. My boss isn't Matty, or even James. My boss is me, and the Big Man-" Jack pointed out at the sky "-so in order to continue to do my job, I have to be with you. I can't work at Phoenix without you. Mac, you're my best friend, my little brother. I could never work there without you. Besides, I couldn't protect you if I worked there and you didn't. In case you're forgetting, you still have a long list of people who kind of don't like it that you're alive. In order to keep you alive and safe from those bastards, I've just gotta be with you. Come on, man, it's simple logic, you should get that with that big brain of yours," Jack finished with a smile. He squeezed Mac's shoulder and smiled even wider at the small smile it gave the blond.
"I just don't understand what I'm supposed to do. I loved that job, Jack, I loved it. How can I ever find something I love as much as working at Phoenix, with our team? They're my family." That was the thing Mac hadn't thought about in his decision making process when it came to quitting. All he had known was that he couldn't work for someone he couldn't trust, which meant that he had to quit. It was the simple logical progression. What he would do next? That was a bit more complicated, but it didn't change the fact that he still couldn't work for someone he didn't trust.
"I don't know, brother, but, whatever it is, we'll do it together. There's gotta be something out there that we can do that lets me keep you safe and stimulates that big brain of yours. But first, what do you say we make a surprise visit to the ranch?"
Mac perked up at that. Jack's family ranch back in Texas was a favorite vacation spot of theirs, and it was a common place for them to retreat to in times of tragedy. It was calming and refreshing for both the body and soul. Mac finally smiled a real smile and held out his fist to Jack's.
"Deal," he said. Jack met his fist with his own, a wide smile stuck on his face. It was going to be rough, but Mac knew it was all going to be okay.
His life had gotten significantly thrown around, but Jack was always there, the one constant. No matter how many times Mac thought he would, the man never left, never abandoned him. He really did care about Mac more than anything in the world, and Mac could never get used to that. Mac had never been anyone's number one priority before, and even though it had been years since he came to the realization that Jack would do anything for him, it was a concept that he still often found hard to grasp. He just couldn't believe that Jack had been willing to quit the Phoenix just to be able to continue to protect Mac. That kind of devotion was rare, and Mac knew he was blessed to have it. Still, he would never be able to thank Jack enough for always being there, for always being that one constant in his life. No matter how crazy things got, he could always count on him, no matter what.